BENNINGTON, Vt. — A Pownal man is being charged with calling in a bomb threat that caused Southwestern Vermont Medical Center's Pownal campus to declare a lockdown last week.
Allen L. Spaulding, 33, of Route 7 was charged with false public alarm violation and ordered to appear in Superior Court's Criminal Division on Oct. 1.
Spaulding is accused of making a threatening call via a cell phone on Aug. 14 at about 9:24 a.m. to the facility on Route 7 just north of the Massachusetts line. According to State Trooper Shawn Sommers, Spaulding was "located at a later date" and issued the citation to appear in court.

STAMFORD, Vt. — A local woman avoided injury when her Chrysler Town and Country crashed into a tree on Saturday morning shortly before 11.

Karen Wheeler, 57, of Readsboro was southbound on Route 100 in her 2005 van when she experienced a mechanical malfunction with her steering wheel, according to State Trooper Lauren Ronan. The van left the highway near Lincoln Road, collided with a guardrail and then a tree.

There was extensive damage to the guardrail and vehicle, which is considered totaled. Wheeler was wearing a seat belt and no one was injured in the crash. The conditions were dry and sunny.